Barbara Bush's memorial service to be held Saturday

"Laura, Barbara, Jenna, and I are sad, but our souls are settled because we know hers was". She married one man who later became president, and raised another, and brought a sharp wit, a matronly demeanor, and an air of gravitas to one of the most visible public roles in American political and social life. It has taken me many years to accept that Mrs. "It was bad. For about six weeks I would wake up in a cold sweat".

Bush was known for her outspoken ways as her husband climbed through the ranks of Republican politics, becoming one of the few first ladies at that point to weigh in on policy issues.

"That's great. Bet she's proud of you", the First Lady answered. "It will not surprise those who know her that Barbara Bush has been a rock in the face off her failing health, worrying not for herself - thanks to her abiding faith - but for others", he said. She focused on early childhood education for preschoolers along with adult literacy for their parents.

The current first lady remarked on Bush's devotion to "put family and country above all else".

"She'll speak her mind but only to him", said Jack Steel, a long-time Bush aide.

Barbara was also a fierce protector and advocate for her family, certainly during the presidency of her son, George W. Bush, and most recently, helping her son, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, with his presidential campaign in 2016.

Before being president, he served as a congressman, Central Intelligence Agency director and Ronald Reagan's vice president.

A year younger than her husband, she was born Barbara Pierce on June 8, 1925, and grew up in Rye, New York.

When Barbara Bush's extraordinary life ends, she will join her daughter there.

Bush is survived by her husband, George H.W.; sons George W., Neil, Marvin and Jeb; daughter, Dorothy Bush Koch; and 17 grandchildren.

"This was a period, for me, of long days and short years", she said, "of diapers, runny noses, earaches, more Little League games than you could believe possible, tonsils and those unscheduled races to the hospital emergency room, Sunday school and church, of hours of urging homework or short chubby arms around your neck and sticky kisses". The Huang family grew so close that her sister Nancy even worked for the Bushes after she graduated from Georgetown University. "I was all right in high school, but when it came to Smith I was a cliffhanger".

In 2003, she wrote a follow-up memoir, "Reflections: Life After the White House".

She also defended them against detractors, from those who criticized her husband's decision to raise taxes in 1990 to those who opposed her son's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003.